Ordinary World Chapter 16

Sun Shaoping has spent nearly two months in Huangyuan since Xiaoman left home.

In a few days it will be the summer heat, and the weather is starting to get hotter.

In two months, he seemed to have changed his appearance. The original tender skin and thin flesh became dark and rough, and the thick black hair was scattered and stuck to the forehead like felt pieces. Due to the hard work, his appetite suddenly increased, and his body looked significantly stronger. Both hands were roughened by stones and iron rods; the back of his right hand was slightly injured, and there was a piece of black and dirty tape attached to it. His eyes seemed to have lost their former brightness and were as calm as a pool without waves; the mustache on his upper lip seemed to be more obvious. It can be seen from the loose hips that he has become an authentic job hunter. If he is mixed with other craftsmen, there is no difference at all.

For two months, Shaoping has been working at the house of Secretary Cao of Yanggou Brigade. After the secretary and his wife knew that he was a teacher, they respected him more than ordinary craftsmen, and asked their relatives who were the laborers not to assign him the heaviest work. This made Sun Shaoping feel some affection for the family for whom he worked. Generally speaking, the master will not have any tenderness towards the craftsmen he hires - I pay and you do the work, there is nothing to say; and you have to find a way to make the people who work use all their strength!

Since his master was so kind to him, Shaoping was not willing to accept this affection in vain. Instead, he took the initiative to do the heaviest work, and even showed a protagonist's attitude. In addition to daily chores, he also helped the family with other tasks. For example, sometimes he carried a load of water, swept the yard, and gave tutoring lessons to Secretary Cao's two children who were in school. He always called Secretary Cao and his wife uncle and aunt. All of this earned the family more care for him. Sometimes, after eating on the stove, the secretary's wife would try to keep him at home and feed him some good food. During this period, Sun Shaoping realized more strongly that as long as he treats others sincerely, others can also treat him sincerely. To experience such a significant life experience may be more important to a young person who has just entered the world than making a lot of money.

This family’s five-hole large stone kiln is about to be hooped up.

On this day of closing, in addition to the hired craftsmen, some villagers from the Yanggou team also came to help the secretary. Shaoping's uncle Ma Shun also came.

Shaoping saw that his uncle, with enthusiasm to curry favor with the secretary, was fighting for the heaviest stone to carry; because he was so hard-working, he accidentally scratched a piece of skin on his hand, so he quickly grabbed a handful Press the loess on your hands.

When going up to the opening stone of the Zhong Kiln, Shaoping found that a piece of publicity stone carried by his uncle had a trace of blood on it. According to local custom, most people are very particular about the stone that closes the opening of a new house. It must not be stained with anything unlucky, especially blood. Although Shaoping was not superstitious, out of his fondness for the secretary's family, he felt that it would be psychologically unpalatable to place a bloody stone in the most "sensitive" place.

But the blood stain was put on it by his uncle, and no one saw it!

Should he remind the owner who is gesticulating next to him? If he told this, his uncle would definitely be unhappy; if he didn't, his conscience would be a bit hard on his master.

At this time, a big craftsman had picked up the stone and was preparing to place it in its place. Shaoping couldn't help but said to the secretary: "There are some blood stains on this stone..." Secretary Cao's face suddenly turned ugly - he obviously knew who carried this stone. He immediately shouted to the people below to bring up some water and wash the stone himself. Because there was an unspeakable mystery and taboo about this matter, everyone stopped what they were doing and witnessed this episode in silence.

Shaoping saw Ma Shun standing aside, his face flushed, and he glared at him fiercely.

He knew that he had offended his uncle. He felt no regret for this.

Soon after we closed our doors, the project was basically completed. After all the hired workers, large and small, were treated to a sumptuous lunch by the owner, they began to settle their wages.

The craftsmen are all crowded into the cave dwelling where the master’s family currently lives. Secretary Cao was reading his notebook and pulling the beads on the abacus; his wife was sitting next to him holding a small wooden box with red paint in her arms. After the secretary calculated a worker's wages, she took the money out of the small mahogany box, dipped her finger in spit, dotted it three times, and then handed it to the craftsman. The craftsmen who received their wages greeted each other and immediately went out to pack their belongings and go on their own; they hurried to the Dongguan Bridge to see if they could find a new job that day. There were not too many courtesies, and there was no farewell ceremony between the master and the employer; the master's house was a kiln, and the craftsmen made money. Now that the master's work was done and the craftsmen's wages were taken, they immediately became strangers to each other. Passersby.

The master kept Shaoping's wages for final settlement - at this time, all the craftsmen were sent away until none was left.

Shaoping had already calculated his money in his mind. Except for the rainman, he worked for a full fifty days. One yuan and fifty cents a day, a total of seventy-five yuan. He had an advance of ten yuan, and now he can still get sixty-five yuan.

When the secretary’s wife handed his wages to him, he clicked and found that she had given him ninety yuan.

He immediately took out twenty-five yuan and said, "It's a lot."

Secretary Cao held down his hand and said, "It's not much. I pay for it every day." I’ll pay you two yuan.”

“Just take it!” the secretary’s wife continued, “We like you, baby! If we give you one and a half yuan, we will lose you! "

"No," a manly spirit made Sun Shaoping unwilling to accept this gift. He said: "I have to keep my word. I originally proposed to get one and a half yuan a day, so I can't take this money." He broke away from the secretary's hand, put the twenty-five yuan on the Kang mat, and then took the money from his hand. Out of the sixty-five yuan, he took out another five yuan and said: "This is the first time I went out and met such a good host like you. These five yuan are my help for you!"

Secretary Cao and his wife stayed there for a while. They looked at him a little horrified, with expressions on their faces that seemed to say: Haha, who are you? How do you know such high etiquette at such a young age?

It took the couple a long time to react, and then they picked up the twenty-five yuan of wages and the five yuan that he gave up, and scrambled to stuff them into his hands.

But Sun Shaoping said nothing.

With sixty yuan of wages and a sense of spiritual satisfaction, Shaoping immediately packed up his belongings like other craftsmen. The secretary and his wife drove him to the open kiln and insisted on keeping him to work for a few more days - Shaoping knew that the family actually no longer needed craftsmen; they kept him "working" just to take advantage of it. Pay him more wages. But he will never stay here again. He thinks it is best to leave this family now!

That afternoon, Sun Shaoping said goodbye to Secretary Cao and his family. Because he had nowhere to go at that time, he had no choice but to come to the home of his distant relative, Ma Shun. However, his uncle's family was too reluctant to receive him. Both of them had dark faces, and almost regarded him as a beggar who came to ask for food.

Alas, the traveler not only had to endure hardship, but also had to endure humiliation. In order to please his uncle and his concubine, he repeated his old trick and hurriedly carried a bucket and load to the family. water.

His uncle and his concubine still showed no good impression of his hospitality; maybe they thought that a job-hunting boy should do whatever they saw in their eyes!

Shaoping came to the well at the bottom of the ditch with unspeakable pain. When he was pulling water, because one of his hands was injured and he was not sure about it, the handle of the pulley flew away from his hand, breaking his other hand as well! He didn't bother wiping the blood on his hands and tried his best to bring up two buckets of water.

The pain in his hand made him feel angry. In order to stop the bleeding, he couldn't help but plunge his bleeding hand into a bucket of water. After the bleeding stopped, he simply picked up the load of water and walked to his uncle's house out of anger. Hum, let them drink his blood!

When he climbed halfway up the slope, Shaoping felt that he had gone too far.

His cultural literacy made him realize that his behavior was barbaric. In an instant, his dissatisfaction with others and his dissatisfaction with himself made him unable to help but fill his eyes with tears.

He immediately threw away the load of water mixed with his blood, and went back to the well at the bottom of the ditch to load two more buckets.

After Shaoping filled his uncle's water jar, it was almost dark.

But he saw that his uncle's family showed no sign of providing him with food, and they did not mention where he would stay at night. The first time he came, even though his sister-in-law's attitude towards him was as bad as this time, his uncle could still get by. But now, his uncle hates him as much as his concubine.

Sun Shaoping knew that this was because when the secretary's family closed their mouths, he had "exposed" him and made him lose face.

It was obvious that he could no longer live with his relatives. And it’s not even enough for just one night—you have to leave now!

This is nothing to be sad about. He packed his luggage and said goodbye to his uncle and his concubine.

Neither of the two couples tried to persuade him to stay, and they didn't even go out to see him off. Shaoping thought of the affection that the family where he worked for had for him, and for the first time he deeply felt that the friendship between people does not depend on whether they are relatives. Yes, when we were children, we often regarded the word relatives as so beautiful and important. Once we grow up and start living independently, we quickly learn that the relationship between relatives is often vulgar; we try to take advantage of each other, and roll our eyes when we can't take advantage; even the biggest difficulties in your life are often caused by relatives; the same is true in life. I will tell you that relatives are often not as sincere to you as friends. To hell with it, relatives!

Carrying a roll of tattered quilts on his back and holding the tattered yellow canvas bag in his hand, Shaoping left his relatives' house, walked out of the gutter, and came to the street.

The setting sun once again dyed Wutong Mountain and Guta Mountain red. A few red clouds flew up in the far eastern sky, edged with golden light.

The first sunset has arrived, and the evening in the city is hot and dry. Under the leafy plane trees on both sides of the street, citizens sat shirtless on small stools and waved their thin fans leisurely. Most of the girls were wearing colorful skirts, which added a lot of beauty to this dim city.

Shaoping walked through the crowd carrying his luggage. However, in this colorful world, he is no longer as uncomfortable as when he first came. Only now did Shaoping feel that such a city is a mixed world of people of all colors; and people at each level have their own world. The biggest advantage is that no one knows anyone on the street and no one cares about anyone. Although his clothes and luggage are in tatters, as long as he doesn't show his shame, he can still walk freely in this world, and others won't even be interested in laughing at you.

Shaoping almost didn't think carefully, and his two legs automatically guided him across the old bridge over the Huangyuan River to Dongguan, where he joined the "kingdom" of the job hunter on the bridge.

It is summer, and although it is getting dusk, most of the craftsmen waiting to "recruit" workers have not dispersed; the sidewalks and open spaces in the free market are full of country people who speak with accents from northern counties. Some people happily took off their sweat-stained cloth jackets and sat naked under the bright street lights, concentrating on catching lice. Vendors selling tea and rice were everywhere, shouting in long tones to attract customers. The air was filled with choking smoke and yellow dust; flies were flying around in swarms.

Shaoping still placed the bed roll beside the brick wall, rolled up a dry cigarette stick with his two bad hands, and started smoking against the wall. He now looks like a seasoned traveler. There is no longer the tension and panic that I felt when I first arrived. Of course, what is more practical is that he has the 60 yuan earned in his pocket, so he does not have to worry about his livelihood for ten days and eight days. Besides, the weather is getting warmer, so you no longer have to worry about accommodation. Summer, this is the golden season for job seekers!

He sat there calmly until the city was brightly lit. At this time, he suddenly thought of his friend Jin Bo, and he wanted to see him now - they had not met since Jin Bo arrived in Huangyuan.

Yes, they are no longer children and have begun to make a living in society separately. Although their hearts are still as deep and affectionate as before, they no longer care about getting along together.

Shaoping knew that Jin Bo learned to drive from his father at Dongguan Post Office—Jin Junhai had been transferred from the regional transportation company to drive a mail truck. When he first arrived in Huangyuan two months ago, he was unwilling to go to Jin Bo, lest his friends would be embarrassed to see him looking homeless. At that time, he still had not overcome the self-esteem and self-love of middle school students. In the past two months, stone and steel have torn that shy veil to pieces! But in order not to "scare" his friends with his rags, Shaoping decided to pack up and "make up" before meeting Jin Bo.

He thought for a moment, then immediately took his luggage and walked from the bridge to the waiting room of the long-distance bus station.

He then entered the men's room in the waiting room.

Sun Xiaoping changed into his newly bought khaki clothes in the toilet, and stuffed the old tattered clothes into a tattered handbag.

He came out of the toilet and spent 20 cents to store his tattered bedding and bag at the station's check-in office - they could store them until eight o'clock tomorrow morning.

Now, as if he was a different person, he walked out of the waiting room briskly. He used five fingers to comb his messy hair through the glass window of a store illuminated by street lights. He smiled with satisfaction at the blurry figure in the glass: Looking at your status, you look like a guy who is doing well in Huangyuan City!

So, he opened his two slender and strong legs and walked impatiently to Dongguan Post Office.